A Thanksgiving Day Mileage Run
by Sean
Mendis
|
Some background on this
trip. I needed some last minute miles to push my NW account into the
Gold Elite area. I spotted a cheap fare Atlata to Los Angeles for $171 plus tax and
jumped on it with a planned routing of
ATL-EWR-CLE-IAH-SAT-LAX-IAH-CLE-CAK-DTW-ATL.
23 November 2000
CO 1142
Boeing 737-300
Atlanta Hartsfield to Newark International
==========================================
This flight was oversold really badly, so I decided to head down to the
airport early for this 645am flight. The cab dropped me off around 520am
and I walked into the terminal to observe around 50 people in line at
the CO desk. Fortunately, the Elite line was empty and I strolled right
up to the desk and tried to check in.
Unfortunately, due to the oversell situation, there were no seats
available for assignment in either First or Coach. However, I checked in
for all my other segments and received First Class boarding cards all
the way through to LAX. The agent there was highly amused by the mileage
run concept and wished me luck. I also had him put my name down as a
volunteer to give up my seat on this flight, and he handed me a whole
pile of the "Will You Volunteer" forms.
Arrived at the gate and handed over my form. The flight was running
about 30 people over, so they expected to use at least a few volunteers.
Most of the folks had checked in at the terminal rather than at the
concourse (indicative of more leisure travelers than business people?)
so the agents had a pretty easy job. I got to chatting with one of them
and he suggested trying the new EWR-HKG service for a quick mileage run
next year. I might just take him up on it!
The minutes ticked down and it finally appeared that they were not going
to need any volunteers. The supervisor, Larry Morrow, came over and did
a great job assigning the last few seats among the passengers who had
volunteered and those who hadn't received assignments. I wound up in 2A
and most of the other volunteers also wound up with First Class seats.
We scrambled aboard and waited a few minutes before pushing back. The
seatbelt sign on this aircraft (N70330) was inoperational and we were
told that as a result, we had to remain seated at all times until we
reached the gate at Newark.
After lift off, a quick breakfast was served consisting of a nice omelet
with a pancake and some potatoes, together with a fruit plate. Nothing
special, but definitely better than nothing. I grabbed about an hour of
shuteye after the service and woke up right as we were descending into
Newark.
We touched down after a flight time of 1:31 and taxied to Gate A-26.
Along the way, I spotted one of the new 767-400s taking off for IAH.
What a graceful aircraft, and one that looks infinitely nicer in
Continental livery rather than the "Deltaflot" colors.
23 November 2000
CO 283
Boeing 737-300
Newark International to Cleveland Hopkins
==========================================
I was one of the first few off the aircraft and headed out towards the
stop for the inter-terminal shuttle bus (as the monorail is dead until
further notice). Along the way, I ran into "KittyHawk" from the
flyertalk.com boards. Her brothers were also on my flight and we chatted
for a few minutes until they showed up.
The shuttle bus was waiting at the designated stop and moved us over to
Terminal C very quickly. My flight was due out from C99, and the walk to
the gate actually took longer than the inter terminal ride. Once again,
the flight was oversold and I handed over another "Will You Volunteer"
card. The agent pulled up my itinerary and involuntarily uttered "Holy
S**t" as he saw the routing. He offered to rebook me on the nonstop to
LAX if I got bumped but I told him that I'd rather just skip CLE and
head on to IAH, for which he checked availability and agreed.
Sure enough, this flight went all the way down to the wire, but they
wound up having to take 4 of us off the flight - me and a family of 3
heading home to CLE. They were immediately rebooked on the next flight,
but my routing was a little more complex than that.
A supervisor came over to print up our compensation vouchers ($300 in
this case) and to work on reroutes. Unfortunately, they couldn't
guarantee me a seat assignment on the next EWR-IAH flight either, but
instead on the 1155am one. I pulled out my pocket schedule, poked around
for a bit and came up with a connection through MSY that was leaving in
about 20 minutes. I was quickly rebooked onto that one, but had to rush
to the gate myself to get a boarding card as the flight was already
being restricted to gate check-ins.
23 November 2000
CO 385
Boeing 737-500
Newark International to New Orleans Moisant
===========================================
I sprinted over to C94 just as the agent was announcing the final
boarding call for the flight and grabbed my boarding card for 8B.
Unfortunately, middle seats were all that was left, but I was grateful
for anything. I was stuck between a sweet old British lady in 8A and a
guy in 8C who was travelling with the lady across the aisle in 8D.
However, there were 3 very attractive young women right ahead of us in
7ABC!
The male flight attendant spent much of the pre-pushback time flirting
with the three girls and came up with some really pathetic oneliners
like "I wish we could save overhead space for girls as cute as you, but
I am afraid you will have to check those". Anyway, we pushed back
exactly on time and were airborne to New Orleans within minutes.
I slept most of the flight, and declined their meagre offering of a
turkey sandwich for lunch. Flight time was 2:47 and we made a textbook
approach over Lake Pontchartain into the airport, flaring just about 100
feet past the runway threshold.
23 November 2000
CO 1642
McDonnell Douglas MD-80
New Orleans Moisant to Houston Bush Intercontinental
====================================================
I had around an hour to kill in N'awlins, so I decided to wander over to
the Southwest gates and moo at the passengers there. Meanwhile, I
received calls from assorted friends to check on my progress. "You are
WHERE?" seemed to be the catchphrase of the hour!
I walked back to my gate and picked up my boarding pass for 3F. The
flight was completely empty with just 8 passengers aboard. The flight
attendants were full of giggles and modified the safety announcement so
that it went "This aircraft is equipped with 8 emergency exits, so pick
one each and don't fight later!".
Flight time was a very quick 0:54 and we were at the gate in IAH within
minutes of touchdown.
23 November 2000
CO 629
McDonnell Douglas MD-80
Houston Bush Intercontinental to San Antonio
============================================
The next flight was due out of C31 which was a fair hike away from where
we came in. I used the walking time to call Dollar and confirm my rental
car reservation for Los Angeles, and then grabbed a quick lunch from
Popeye's chicken along the way.
I arrived at the gate just as they were calling the preboard for First
Class and Elite, so I wandered aboard and took my seat 3A. The flight
attendant managed to get everyone's drink orders before the regular
boarding commenced, which was fortunate as the flight was packed to the
gills. It was interesting to contrast this with the previous flight - an
example of where the hub-and-spoke system fails to deliver.
Flight time to San Antonio was 0:38 and we touched down smoothly and
taxied to gate 31. I spotted a bunch of Kitty Hawk International DC8s
lying on the tarmac gathering dust on the way there, along with a few
other interesting types I had never seen before (like a SunWest
737-200).
23 November 2000
CO 515
Boeing 737-700
San Antonio to Los Angeles International
========================================
I spent the short layover at SAT watching the Vikings-Cowboys game on
the TV set at the Fuddrucker's, realizing that Randy Moss is quite an
amazing athlete in the process! My friend Chad (who I was supposed to be
meeting in LA) called just as I was about to board and I chatted with
him all the way down the jetway.
I took my seat 2A and the flight attendant Leslie came around and took
my drink order (Heineken). She was a very friendly sort and spent a
while chatting with each of her 3 passengers in First Class (and even
grabbed my cellphone to have a short chat with Chad too!).
Soon after takeoff, she came around with another round of drinks (Vodka
Orange) followed by dinner, which was accompanied by a pretty decent
wine. Of course, I abstained from too much of that since I had to drive.
The movie was "The Perfect Storm" and Leslie reccomended that we keep
our seatbelts fastened while watching it, and I was inclined to agree
after watching it. Flight time was 2:54 and the inflight service was
quite exceptional all the way through it.
23 November 2000
Los Angeles
==================
I headed out to the rental car shuttle area and caught the shuttle over
to Dollar. My reservation was for a compact, but the agent gave me an
upgrade to minivan when I told him that I was gonna be returning it
later the same evening.
My plans were to meet up with Chad and his friend Jeni at the "Jerry's
Famous Deli" location on Ventura Blvd. in Studio City. I got there
around 745pm and they arrived soon after. We spent an enjoyable few
hours chatting (teasing "Chad" about his important role in the
presidential elections!) and playing video games at the adjoining
arcade.
Chad and Jeni headed home around 1045pm and I got back on the freeway to
the airport. The traffic was a little more than on the way up, but I
made it down to the rental return by 1120pm and was back at the terminal
by 1145pm for the 130am departure.
24 November 2000
CO 202
Boeing 757-200
Los Angeles International to Houston Bush Intercontinental
==========================================================
I checked in at the E-Service center around 1145pm for the 130am redeye
to IAH. I was very pleased to see that the automated upgrade system had
worked as promised and had delivered upgrades for all segments.
At the gate, the flight was pretty badly oversold and the agent (Mary)
began by offering a $250 voucher for volunteers. She soon upped the ante
to $300, followed by $350 and finally $400. At that point I figured that
it was worth it, so I handed over one of the "Will You Volunteer" forms
after confirming with the other agent (Shelley) that they would rebook
me in F on the non-stop to CLE at 630am.
The flight finally left with 13 volunteers needed. A Redcoat (Phil) came
over to assist with the rebookings and the hotels. Since I expected to
be on the 630am flight and it was already a little past 2am, I told him
that I wouldn't need any. He collected names and headed out to call the
hotel and get things set up.
Meanwhile, I get to the front of the line and the agent (Kathy) began
the process of rebooking me. She suddenly realizes that the 630am to CLE
is not operating because of the reduced holiday schedule. She offers to
book me on the 920am nonstop, but that was unacceptable because that
didn't get to CLE till 5pm and I had to meet a friend there for lunch. I
scrambled through my pocket schedule for other possibilities, but Mary
(who had just finished rebooking the other pax) told me that I had
better hurry since their shift was up in a few minutes and she intended
to leave at that time.
I struggled and came up with a 5am America West flight through PHX
arriving in CLE around 2pm. I was told that "It will take too long to
rebook you on another airline so you will have to go on Continental". I
decided to go on the 705am to IAH and connect to CLE arriving around
430pm. However, this would not allow me to take my scheduled NW
connection from CLE, which left exactly 8 mins later. Kathy told me that
I could make it "if you run" since I didn't have any checked bags. I
declined. The non-stop ERJ at 745pm was oversold to authorization, but
Kathy told me that she had managed to book me on it. She printed out my
itinerary and I noticed that she had booked me in Y, rather than F,
which was what I had given up. When I challenged her about this, Mary
intervened and told me that "You paid $200 for this ticket and you
expect to fly in First Class? Thats not happening!". That said, she
grabbed Kathy and they walked away.
Needless to say, I was furious about this. I called CO reservations at
the 800 number and asked them if they could do anything. The agent who
answered my call told me that I hadn't been rebooked at all beyond IAH,
but she went ahead and booked me through to CLE. The CLE-ATL was booked
to authorization though and she couldn't do anything about it.
Around 3am, I called NW Elite services and spoke to Sandra there. She
was able to confirm my upgrades into F, but was also unable to confirm
me on the CLE-ATL flight.
Around 330am, I called my mom (one benefit of living 8600 miles away
from her is that I never feel guilty about calling at weird hours of the
night since it is bright daylight there!) and spent 15 minutes
complaining to her about the sheer injustice of the situation. She
agreed, as all good mothers do.
Around 345am, I found myself a comfy spot on the carpet by gate 68B and
tried to grab some rest while staring at the nose of a United 747-200 no
more than 10 feet away from the window.
24 November 2000
CO 1662
Boeing 757-200
Los Angeles International to Houston Bush Intercontinental
==========================================================
Around 430am, I headed off to the ticket counters to check in for my
flights. The E-Service centers were not online yet, so I dealt with Joe
at one of the counters. He printed out my boarding cards, including
those for my 8 minute connection at Cleveland. I told him that this was
not a legal connection and asked if he could try again to rebook me on
the 745pm flight if it had opened up. He replied that "these are
Northwest operated flights so you will have to talk to them about that".
I pointed out that these were ticketed on CO stock with CO flight
numbers, but he just shrugged and asked if there is anything more he
could do for me.
I was beginning to crave a cup of coffee by now, so I asked him if I
could get a meal voucher. He replied that "when you accepted the
compensation we offered to volunteer your seat, you gave up any further
claims from us". He then showed me the relevant line on the "Will You
Volunteer" form. I asked if he would be willing to do so as a goodwill
gesture. He paused a second and replied "I could do that, but I choose
not to do so".
I was incensed by this attitude and immediately called NW Elite services
again, primarily to get my flight fixed but also to have someone to
complain to about this! Tracy was able to book me on the 745pm flight
and then connected me with Ms. Jackson at Continental Customer Service
who appeared to be pretty high up. She was extremely apologetic and
promised that I would receive a written explanation from Continental
after they completed their investigation. She also added that she was
putting a note in my record to offer me a meal voucher.
At around 640am, I boarded the aircraft and took my assigned seat 5A. A
few minutes later, another agent came on board (I couldn't see her name
tag) and offered me an envelope. I opened it to find a stack of free
drink coupons with expiry dates of 12/31/99. I told her that since I was
in First Class the drinks were free anyway and besides the coupons were
expired. She just looked sheepish, took them back and walked away.
The announced flight time to Houston was 3:01 and I slept like a baby
all the way through. The sweet old lady next to me actually had to wake
me up once we landed with a polite inquiry of "Are you getting off here?
I was worried about you - you didn't move at all during the flight." I
gave her a quick synopsis of my LA saga as we taxied to the gate, and
she expressed appropriate horror.
24 November 2000
CO 1992
Boeing 737-800
Houston Bush Intercontinental to Cleveland Hopkins
===================================================
My connection at IAH was only 32 minutes, so I hurried over to D3 just
as they were beginning to board the 737-800. I was in 3A for the 2:31
flight and slept most of the way. There was a lunch service which I
declined.
As soon as I deplaned at CLE, I proceeded to the desk to try and track
down my friend who was a gate agent for CO at the airport. I had called
his home earlier from IAH, but his wife said that he had already left
for work. Anyway, there was a very distinguished looking agent standing
at the desk and I approached him with my itinerary in hand. He burst out
laughing and came across the counter to shake my hand. Finally,
something today was quick and painless!
He told me that someone had put a note in my record to "offer apologies
and all possible assistance" to the me. In the spirit of that, he told
me to hang on while he sent the aircraft back to IAH and then we could
do dinner at "Max & Erma" on Concourse B. I was definitely game for that
since I had skipped lunch on the flight. I headed off to check voicemail
and make some calls while he checked the pax in for the flight.
I returned around 30 minutes later, just in time to watch the maestro
finish up the paperwork for the flight and send it on its way right on
time. We then headed out to Concourse B, with my friend laughing at how
security seemed to single me out for extra attention.
Dinner was good, with my friend choosing Chicken and myself picking the
Bacon Bleu burger with a Budweiser draft. We discussed sports and
airlines and plenty of other stuff over the next 40 minutes or so - and
then it was time for him to head back for a LAS flight and for me to
head over to concourse D for the ERJ to Atlanta.
24 November 2000
CO 4181
Embraer RJ-145
Cleveland Hopkins to Atlanta Hartsfield
=========================================
I wandered over to D14 where ATL was about to start boarding. The agent
there had also seen the comments in my record and asked me about them. I
gave her the story and she was surprised, but assured me that Cleveland
was a lot more hospitable than LA.
Boarding commenced a few minutes later and I was the first person aboard
in seat 1A. I gate checked my carry-on and made myself comfortable as
the pax filed on board the RJ. It was a pretty full flight, but it
finally went out with 7 seats open.
The 1:37 flight down to Hartsfield was pretty turbulent, but the RJ
seemed to weather it pretty well. I chatted with the F/A during one of
the extended "remain seated" periods and told her about my experience.
She shared a story about her own poor experience with LAX staff while
non-revving. Looks like those folks have a reputation for being asses.
My bag was waiting for me on the jetway as soon as the door opened. I
guess the Elite tags helped, 'cos the only other bag already out was one
with CO Elite tags. I didn't wait around to see how long the others
took!
Headed out to the MARTA station and got on a Northbound train home. The
guy sitting next to me tried to make conversation, and made the mistake
of asking "So, where ya comin' in from?". I laughed and began listing
off the cities. He looked puzzled, but I just smiled and said "It's a
long story...." |
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